On February 7th, the Institute of European Studies Irish Studies Program, in cooperation with the Celtic Studies Program, the Department of English, and the Department of Comparative Literature was pleased to host Professor of Modern English Claire Connolly at University College Cork for the inauguration of the Robert and Rebecca Tracy Lecture in honor of their contributions to Irish Studies at UC Berkeley. Director of Irish Studies Catherine Flynn moderated the event that was attended by 30 people.
Connolly drew on the unlikely connection between late 18th to early 19th century novelist Maria Edgeworth and author Sally Rooney who has only risen to celebrity in the past decade. She then sketched an abstract of what progress means for Ireland and the Irish people, and how it is inherently connected to female writers, pointing out how women as well as LGBTQ+ writers have become increasingly relevant in public perception of Irish fiction. In elaborating on the Irish notion of progress, Connolly emphasized that the feeling of estrangement is a quintessential theme in Irish literature.
Afterward, Connolly referenced a few contemporary works by Irish women such as This Hostel Life, Under the Awning by Melatu Uche Okorie, and Milkman by Anna Burns which present a more critical approach in modern Irish literature. She explained that Maria Edgeworth wrote about historical self-consciousness of a post-revolutionary moment, emphasizing the returning questions of legitimacy her novels pose. She also advocated for nuanced discourse of the work of Sally Rooney.
To compare those two distinct novelists, Connolly focused on four somewhat common strands in their writing. First, she compared the authors’ discussion of an improving society which for Edgeworth is a move towards “Englishness”, whereas Rooney discusses relatively modern problems. Second, she elaborated on their stance on the marriage plot and happy endings; for Edgeworth, this often means a resolution of hurts of colonial history, where Rooney is criticized for arguably lukewarm endings and the failure to overcome heteronormativity. Third, Connolly pointed out the difference in political engagement which for Rooney tends to stay superficial and often abstract. Fourth, Connolly analyzed their tendency of temporizing, with Edgeworth introducing a political register for modes of waiting, and Rooney often testing the limits of patience.
As a last remark, Connolly once more emphasized that while there inarguably are vast differences between the two writers examined, they have in common the problem of finding a role for women in Irish fiction. The event concluded with a lively round of questions moderated by Flynn, highlighting different aspects of the lecture such as the connection between formal stylistic experimentation and progress as a possible illustration of innovation.